Diman student sees future in making guitars

Daniel Bowman has big rock 'n' roll dreams, but not the way you might think.

Daniel Bowman has big rock 'n' roll dreams, but not the way you might think.

The Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School student wants to make guitars for a living with his own company.

He's already got a head start. And he's looking to the past for inspiration.

He used legendary Led Zeppelin rocker Jimmy Page's first guitar as a model for a fully functional Telecaster electric guitar that he built in the carpentry shop at Diman.

"It's not the same color, but otherwise it's the same as Jimmy's first guitar," the high school junior and Fall River resident said.

Bowman's guitar won a gold medal at the Skills USA State Competition's "Techspo," where students present a finished project. The guitar also will be submitted to the ninth annual New England Student Woodworking Design Competition in June.

"It was a great project for him because it has meaning for him," instructor Emanuel Botelho said of Bowman. "How many kids can say they built a guitar? He'll look back 20 years from now and be proud of it."

Milled from a solid piece of wood, the guitar is a finely-honed piece of work. Bowman built it from scratch after school over the course of four weeks. It bears what he hopes will become a brand name — Bowman — on the headstock.

The guitar is a surprisingly complicated musical instrument, according to the teen.

"The neck is the hardest thing," Bowman said. "Everything has to be perfect. If the frets are off, the whole thing is messed up and you won't get the right notes."

Botelho said Bowman applies himself to every project.

"Whatever work I give him, he pushes me because he wants to make it more complicated and challenging," Botelho said.

That "can-do" attitude helped Bowman's path to what he hopes will be rock stardom.

Maybe someday, the best guitarists in the world will trade in their Gibsons or Fenders for the work of a Fall River guy who learned his craft in a Diman shop.